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Superman
“All those things I can do. All those powers. And I couldn’t even save him.” — Clark Kent Superman, also known as The Man Of Steel, was born in a distant planet called Krypton, His birth name was Kal-El and he was the son of Jor-El and Lara-El. He was also considered one of the founding Member of Justice League. History Kal-El was born to renowned scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara on the alien planet Krypton. When Jor-El discovers that the planet is going to explode, he puts Kal-El in a spaceship heading to the planet Earth, which crashes in a field in the state of Kansas. The ship was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, a farming family, who take him in as their own. As he grows, so do his strength and his strange and awesome abilities, fueled by Earth's yellow sun. Savior Of Metropolis As an adult, he moves to the bustling City of Tomorrow, Metropolis, becoming a field reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper, and donning the identity of Superman. An early appearance in costume, saving a young girl, attracted the attention of Lois Lane — as the story replaced one of her own. It was Lois who subsequently gave Clark's costumed persona the name "Superman". Superman gave Lois an exclusive interview, his motivation being to alleviate public fears by ensuring that people knew where he came from and why he was here. Shortly after his arrival in Metropolis, Superman met his greatest and most persistent adversary Lex Luthor. In the following months, a variety of costumed criminals — some with metahuman abilities — began to appear in Metropolis to oppose the Man of Steel. A by-no-means complete list would include the Toyman, the Parasite, Metallo, Livewire, Bizarro, Luminus and Volcana. Superman would also encounter various beings who, like himself, hailed from other worlds, such as the renowned bounty hunter Lobo and the warrior queen Maxima, or even other dimensions, like the mischievous. He would even meet a few fellow survivors of Krypton: the Phantom Zone-exiled Jax-Ur and Mala, and — most chillingly — the artificial intelligence Brainiac. Evolution Of A Superhero Golden Age In the Golden Age of Superman, Jor-L, a scientist of the planet Krypton, discovers that his planet is about to explode. He attempts to warn his fellow scientists of this impending catastrophe, but is dismissed as a crack-pot and laughed out of the scientific community. As a last-resort, he and his wife Lara place their infant son Kal-L, in a ship and rocket him into space where he drifts for an unknown amount of time before crash-landing to Earth and is discovered by Jonathan and Mary Kent. As he matures, great powers began to manifest and before his parents’ deaths, they dub him Superman and urge him to use his powers for the forces of justice. His parents pass on and he moves to Metropolis to begin his career at the Daily Star (later known as the Daily Planet) so that he could hear about trouble as it’s happening. Superman’s time as a hero had him getting directly involved in World War II, carrying Stalin and Hitler to the League of Nations in Geneva to face a trial for their human rights violations. He also becomes the protector of Metropolis, but, unlike his later incarnations, he’s extremely aggressive and vicious, often murdering his powerless foes, and having little regard for the collateral damage he inflicts. Superman vowed never to kill anyone ever again and if he did he would retire. Several of the series' supporting characters were introduced in this age, most notably Lois Lane, a fellow reporter who would be Superman's love interest and eventually his wife, and Lex Luthor, the archenemy of Superman. Silver Age During the Silver Age, a younger version of Kal-El, named Superboy was introduced and travels to the future to help the Legion of Superheroes fight evil across the year 3000. During this age, Supergirl is first introduced as Superman’s cousin during the late 1950s and serves the role of kid sidekick along with the menagerie of super-animals (including Krypto, Beppo, Streaky and Comet). Many of Superman’s most iconic villains are introduced in this era, and most of them take on a science fiction theme, including Brainiac and Bizarro. Superman also helps find the Justice League of America, marking one of the first pan-label crossover teams in comic book history. During the 1960s, his origin is revealed: Superman was born on Krypton, to Jor-El (a slight change from the Golden Age Jor-L) by Lara Lor-Van. Rejected by the Science Council, Jor-El labors to build a vessel that can transport his family away from the impending catastrophe. The planet’s destruction begins before Jor-El predicted, however, and he can only send his son. Kal-El’s ship lands in Smallville and is discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent (an earlier version identified them as Ethan and Sara Kent), who adopt the boy and raise him as their own, naming him Clark (which was Martha's maiden name). Clark discovers his powers while still a baby (See Superbaby) and learns to control them as he matures. Clark convinces his mother to sew him a costume and fights evil as Superboy in Smallville while also becoming a member of the Legion Of Super-Heroes in the year 3000. He is assisted by his pet, Krypto the Superdog, who also escaped Krypton in a prototype rocket launched by Jor-El, and thus had similar powers to the Boy of Steel. Childhood friends, Lana Lang and Pete Ross, round out his supporting cast and give him a connection to Earth beyond his parents. When Jonathan and Martha Kent both die of a disease for which even Superboy cannot cure, Clark moves to Metropolis and attends Metropolis University, continuing his adventuring throughout his college career. He eventually changes his name to Superman upon graduating with a degree in journalism and gets a job at the Daily Planet soon after ward. Silver Age Superman is famous for being incredibly powerful and for his ability to gain new powers that Superman had never had before. Bronze Age After the Silver Age comes the Bronze Age. During this age, the powers and abilities of Superman have changed. This age was marked from 1970-1985. Modern Age The Modern Age is an era in the history of Superman comics, and of DC comics in general. It began in 1985 following the Crisis on Infinite Earths story, which rebooted continuity, and ended in 2011 with the Flashpoint storyline, which rebooted again. This era includes the Death of Superman, one of the best-selling comic stories of all time, introducing Doomsday. This era is continuing till now. There is also some changes in the powers and abilities of Superman.